Counter stacker of the rolling press

ABSTRACT

In combination with a rolling press having a passage into which the printed sheets are delivered passing by a counter head, and a turn table which can be turned 180* according to a signal from the counter head whenever a definite number of the printed sheets has delivered and a bundle has been finished an improvement comprising a counter stacker having a bar plate provided at the upper part of the passage to shut the passage temporarily, a pair of receiving plates provided at the middle part of the passage and made alternately to be inserted into the passage at the uppermost position and then lowered down and drawn out from the passage at the lowest position and then raised along the outside of the passage to the uppermost position where it is inserted again into the passage, and means for controlling the motion of the bar plate to shut the passage according to a signal from the counter head whenever a definite number of the printed sheets has been delivered and at the same time for alternating the stacking motion of the receiving plates.

United States Patent [7 2] Inventor Yuji Fujishiro 6 of No. 3 Fukazawa l-chdme, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan [21] Appl. No. 840,738 [22] Filed July 10,1969 [45] Patented Mar. 9, 1971 [54] COUNTER STACKER OF THE ROLLING PRESS 2 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs. 52 1 us. Cl 93/93, 214/65, 271/86, 271/88 [51] Int. Cl. B68h 33/00 [50] Field ofSearch 93/93 (R); 271/88, 86; 214/65 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,819,661 1/1958 Howdle et al 93/93 3,027,817 4/1962 Loeffler 93/93 Primary ExaminerBernard Stickney Attorney-John Lezdey ABSTRACT: In combination with a rolling press having a passage into which the printed sheets are delivered passing by a counter head, and a turn table which can be turned 180 according to a signal from the counter head whenever a definite number of the printed sheets has delivered and a bundle has been finished an improvement comprising a counter stacker having a bar plate provided at the upper part of the passage to shut the passage temporarily, a pair of receiving plates provided at the middle part of the passage and made alternately to v be inserted into the passage at the uppermost position and then lowered down and drawn out from the passage at the lowest position and then raised along the outside of the passage to the uppermost position where it is inserted again into the passage, and means for controlling the motion of the bar plate to shut the passage according to a signal from the counter head whenever a definite number of the printed sheets has been delivered and at the same time for alternating the stacking motion of the receiving plates.

Patented March 9, 1971 4 Sheets-Sheet l FIG?) Patented March 9, 1971 4 Sheets-Sheet ,2

Patented March 9, 1971 3,568,578

4 Sheets-Sheet a Patented March 9, 1971 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

FIG IO COUNTER STACIIIER OF THE ROLLING PRESS BACKGROUND, BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improvements in the counter stacker of a rolling press. Since mass communication has developed lately, the speed up of the printing work with the rolling press is strongly desired. For example, assume the speed of printing is 70,000 sheets per hour, then it means that the delivery of sheets is 19.5 per second. If a bundle is made by 25 sheets, it will happen that a bundle must be made during less than 1.3 seconds. At present, the printing speed is requested to be more than 160,000 sheets per hour. Then, for a still further shorter period a bundle must be finished. This is why the creation of new means far beyond that of the usual counter stacker is earnestly required.

An object of this invention is to furnish an apparatus which enables quick accumulation of the printed sheets for making bundles and quick, piling of bundles for making stacks to match such enormous speed up of printing.

A feature of this invention is to combine a bar plate situated at the upper part of the passage to which the printed sheets are delivered in order to timely stop the drop of the printed sheets. A pair of receiving plates is provided at the middle part of said passage and is alternately inserted into said passage at its uppermost part and gradually lowered to its lowest position where it is drawn out from said passage and raised along the outer side of said passage until it reaches to its uppermost position where it is inserted into said passage again. A turn table is situated at the bottom of said passage and is turned as far as 180 when either of said receiving plates is being lowered. Also, there is provided means to control the motion 'of the bar plate, the receiving plates, the turn table and carrying out of finished stack by the signal from the counter head provided at the delivery end of the printed sheets whenever a definite number of the printed sheets has been counted.

Further, this invention provides an apparatus by which the inclination of the receiving plate during its downward movement within the passage is gradually changed to keep the level of the upper surface of accumulation so as not to be disturbed by the difference of thickness between the folded and plain ends of printed sheets.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. I to 3 are side elevations illustrating a cycle of function performed by the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. '9 is the side view in section along the line 9-9 in FIG. I0.

FIG. I is the front view in section through the line 10-10 in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the drawing, members I I, II are transferring belts of the printed sheets. A counter head 12 counts the number of sheets passing through and transmits signals whenever a definite number of sheets has been counted to start and control the given function of the mechanism. A bar plate 13 shuts the entrance of the passage I4 with enclosure I5 and stops the drop of the printed sheets. There is a turn table I7 upon which the printed sheets are accumulated to form bundles II, which are being piled to form a stack.

Receiving plates 13, I3 in pairs, alternately, to receive the printed sheets and transfer them downward within the passage I4 to said turn table I7. That is, each of said receiving plates Iii, I3 is made to enter said passage 14 at its uppermost position to receive the dropping sheets and then move downward supporting them until it reaches to its lowest position where it is drawn out of the passage I4 and raised upward along the outside of the passage I4 to its uppermost position. This action is alternately performed by the pair of said receiving plates III, 18.

At the moment of alternation of said receiving plates I3, 18' said bar plate 13 is made to shut the passage temporarily. Cylinders I9, I9 are actuated by fluid pressure for inserting and extracting said receiving plates I8, I3. Piston rods 20, 20' transmit the motion of the pistons in cylinders l9, 19 to the receiving plates I3, I8 respectively.

In FIG. 9, there is shown the holders 10, 21, 21' of said cylinders I9, 119'. Bearings 22, 22', 23, 23 with brackets 24, 24', 25, 25 for supporting spindles provided on the sides of the holders 21, 21'. Up and down members 26 and 27 are integral with a pair of the brackets 24, 24 and 25, 23 respectively. Guide bars 28, 23 and 29, 29 guide the movement of the up and down members 26, 27. Brackets 30, 31 support and fix the both ends of the guide bars 23, 28' and 29, 29.

Racks 32, 33 are provided on the said up and down members 26, 27 with pinions 34, 33 engaging the racks 32, 33 respectively. Relay pinions 38, 39 are fixed on the same axles 36, 37 of pinions 34, 35 respectively with racks 40, 41 engaging said relay pinions 38, 39. A bar 42 with sliding guides 46, 46' lines the racks 32, 33. An acting cylinder 43 actuates the up and down members 26, 27. Piston 44 and connecting rod 45 is integral with said rack bar 42. Rocking arms 47, 47' are fixed firmly on both sides of cylinder holder 21, while the rocking arms 48, 43' are fixed on both sides of the cylinder holder 21. Cam rolls 49, 49' and 50, 50' slide along grooved cams 51, SI and 52, 52 respectively so that when the grooved cams 51, 51 and 52, 52 are set at an angle as seen in FIG. 9, the inclination of said receiving plates will increase as it moves downward and decrease as it moves gradually upward. However, if the grooved cams are fixed vertically, the receiving plate will move up and down at a constant inclination.

The former case can be suitably used for folded sheets such as newspapers, while the latter case is conveniently used for plain sheets.

The operation of this invention is as follows:

As shown in FIG. I, the printed sheets are delivered from the transferring belts Ill, 11' through the counter head I2 into the passage 14 just after the bar plate I3 is opened. The passage 14 and the receiving plate 118' is inserted into the passage. Then the receiving plate 13' is moved downward gradually by the up and down members 26, above-mentioned by the acting cylinder 43 through the piston 44, piston rod 45, rack bar 42, rack 41, pinion 35, rack 33, up and down member 27, brackets 25, 25', bearing 23, 23' and the cylinder holder 21.

If the grooved cams 52, 52 are inclined leftward as seen in the drawing, then the angle of inclination (a) decreases gradually as the receiving plate moves downward inside of the passage M keeping the level of the upper surface of accumulation against the difference of thickness caused by the folded edges of the printed sheets.

When the receiving plate 18 is being lowered, the receiving plate It; is raised at the outside of the passage. This is done by the action of the up and down members 26, 27. Therefore, as the piston 44 moves leftwardly, rack bar 42, pinion 38, spindle 36, pinion 34, and rack 32 move to raise the up and down members 20, 27 which support the receiving plate I8 through the bearing 22, 22', cylinder holder 21 and cylinders l9, 19.

In FIG. 2, the uppermost position of the receiving plate I8 and at the same time the lowest position of the receiving plate 18' are shown. In this instant the counter head finishes the counting of the definite number of the printed sheets, the bar plate I3 moves to shut the passage l4 and the receiving plate I8 is drawn out rightwardly. The receiving plate I8 is inserted from lefthand side into the passage I4 by the action of the cylinders 19 and I9 exactly the time of alternation of the receiving plates 18 and 18'.

The turn table is turned as far as I as usual while the printed sheets are accumulating on the receiving plate (see FIG. I and 5).

FIG. 3 shows the positions of the moving members just after alternation. FIG. 4 shows the position of bar plate which has retired to open the passage 14 and some printed sheets are dropped from it to the passage 14. FIG. 5 shows the state where the accumulation on the plate 18 is proceeding during downward movement. In this instant, the piston 44 is moving rightward as shown in the drawing so that the plate 18 is lowered and the plate 18 is raised gradually. in this state the angle ([3) of the plate 18 is decreasing and the angle(a) of the plate 18' is increasing to the vertical line.

FIG. 6 shows the critical point where the bar plate is acting to shut the passage and plate 18 is drawn out from the passage at its lowest position while the plate 18 is inserted into the passage 14. FIG. 7 shows the state where the alternation as mentioned above has just been finished. FIG. 8 shows the state where the bar plate 13 has retired and the accumulation on the plate 18 is beginning. This state will soon change to that of FIG. 1 and the above mentioned movement will be repeated in cycles.

This invention is therefore so constructed and operated as stated above. That is, a pair of receiving plates are made to work alternately cooperated by a bar plate, to divide the printed sheets, to accumulate them in a bundle and to pile the bundles thus made alternately in the opposite direction. The apparatus displays about twice the capacity compared with one using single receiving plate so that it contributes to the speedup of the printing work or the quick running of the rolling press. Further, all of the printed sheets delivered to the passage are carried down alternately by either of the receiving plates to the turn table and never dropped directly to the turn table so that the accumulation is made in the best order.

Moreover since the upper surface of the accumulation is kept approximately in constant level, in case of folded sheets by using an apparatus increasing the descending speed of the folded side of the printed sheets upon the receiving plate, the disturbance in accumulation is prevented.

Obviously, the embodiment shown is exemplary only and a wide variety of embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. In combination with a rolling press having a passage into which the printed sheets are delivered passing by a counter head, and a turn table which can be turned according to a signal from a counter head whenever a definite number of the printed sheets has delivered and a bundle has been finished, a counter stacker having a bar plate provided at the upper part of said passage so as to shut the passage temporarily, a pair of receiving plates provided at the middle part of said passage and made so as to alternately be inserted into said passage at the uppermost position and then lowered down and drawn out from said passage at the lowest position and then raised along the outside of said passage to said uppermost position where it is inserted again into said passage, and means for controlling the motion of said bar plate to shut said passage according to a signal from said counter head whenever a definite number of the printed sheets has been delivered and at the same time for alternating the stacking motion of said receiving plates.

2. The combination of claim 1 including means to change the inclination of said receiving plate gradually. 

1. In combination with a rolling press having a passage into which the printed sheets are delivered passing by a counter head, and a turn table which can be turned 180* according to a signal from a counter head whenever a definite number of the printed sheets has delivered and a bundle has been finished, a counter stacker having a bar plate provided at the upper part of said passage so as to shut the passage temporarily, a pair of receiving plates provided at the middle part of said passage and made so as to alternately be inserted into said passage at the uppermost position and then lowered down and drawn out from said passage at the lowest position and then raised along the outside of said passage to said uppermost position where it is inserted again into said passage, and means for controlling the motion of said bar plate to shut said passage according to a signal from said counter head whenever a definite number of the printed sheets has been delivered and at the same time for alternating the stacking motion of said receiving plates.
 2. The combination of claim 1 including means to change the inclination of said receiving plate gradually. 